Blue Jackets Recent Community Efforts Focused on Celebrating the Holidays

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We’re going to try something new this season.

You see what the Columbus Blue Jackets are doing on the ice. A few times throughout the season, we’re going to highlight some things they’re doing off the ice and in the community.

Why are we doing this? For starters, it’s important to document what the Blue Jackets are doing throughout the season. They do a lot that you don’t see on camera.

But also, this is an opportunity for you to keep up with all happenings within the team. Perhaps there will be chances for you to get involved too.

In this space, we will recap recent events, highlight some current events and get some perspective from the team on what all is going on.

In our debut edition of the Blue Jackets Community Notebook, we will look back at the recent high school hockey night the team hosted. Then we’ll highlight the current events taking place with the holidays in mind.

High School Hockey Night

Before Tuesday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Blue Jackets hosted 37 local high school hockey teams for a pregame reception in the Founder’s Club at Nationwide Arena.

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell joined along with radio play-by-play man Bob McElligott in question and answer session that talked about a wide variety of topics including how Waddell started into hockey. After about 20 minutes of conversation, it was time to present the checks.

A staple for the Blue Jackets, the McConnell Education Foundation has donated over $1.9 million over the last 27 years to teams to help fund their costs of operation. McElligott called up each team captain and presented them with a check at the end of the reception. This year’s total between the 37 schools was over $130,000.

Columbus Blue Jackets, Don Waddell, Bob McElligott
Don Waddell and Bob McElligott spoke to 37 high school hockey teams on Tuesday. (Photo credit: Mark Scheig, the Hockey Writers)

Then in a separate pregame ceremony, one captain from each team got to partake in an on-ice recognition to celebrate the night. Who knows? Perhaps the next Sean Kuraly was in that room.

Waddell made a good point to the players in that reception. He said you “never know who is watching you at anytime.” The point here being that one person may watch a player and see something special. That person may know others of importance who weren’t at the game and tell them about what they saw. Suddenly, word on a player gets out. Just because it’s high school hockey doesn’t mean someone isn’t watching.

It was a great night of celebration and growth for the local high school hockey scene. The players got to then watch the game against the Flyers that night.

Lady Jackets Holiday Tree Auction

Another event that just concluded on Thursday was the Lady Jackets Holiday Tree Auction. As part of this, special trees were decorated for each Blue Jackets’ player reflecting that player’s favorite things.

Among the things included in any given package were player experiences, Blue Jackets’ tickets, autographed memorabilia, gift cards to a player’s favorite store or restaurant as well as some of their favorite snacks. Proceeds raised helped benefit the Blue Jackets Foundation.

In particular for the Lady Jackets, their focus is aimed at promoting the health and wellness of children in Central Ohio.

Other Current Events

The Blue Jackets are currently running a few holiday promotions with some ending Saturday night during their game against the Anaheim Ducks. Here is a list of what’s going on.

  • The Blue Jackets are raffling off autographed ugly sweaters. Fans who attend the game on Saturday can see these ugly sweaters on the main concourse. The raffle ends during the second intermission Saturday night.
  • The mascot Stinger will be dressed up as Santa and available pregame to take photos with fans. This will take place on the main concourse outside Sections 116 and 117 at Nationwide Arena. The cost is $10 with proceeds benefiting the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation. This will be available Saturday as well as the next two home games on 12/19 and 12/23.
  • Saturday night also marks the TV10 Salvation Army Toy Drive. TV10 and the Blue Jackets partner each year to collect toys for local families in need. Donations will be accepted by volunteers on the Front St. and McConnell Blvd. plazas outside the arena entrances. All toys collected will be donated to the Salvation Army of Central Ohio’s Christmas Cheer program. Anyone who makes a toy donation on Saturday will receive a voucher redeemable for two tickets to an upcoming Blue Jackets’ game.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to contribute to a community that has given us so much,” says Andee Cochran, Director of the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation. “In addition to our season-long efforts, this holiday season, we proudly support the Salvation Army to help brighten the holidays for families in need, recognize the tremendous grow of high school hockey, and engage our players and Lady Jackets in unique ways for fans to get involved. Together, we are making a meaningful impact in our city, continuing our commitment established over twenty-four years ago when our team arrived in Columbus.”